>> cenk: check us out tonight an hour from now on theyoungturks.com. a whole other show is awesome. youtube/tyt. >> john: congratulations to north carolina for taking on the completely nonexistent issue of voter fraud. because before we can tackle the real problems, we must tackle the made-up problems then we have don't have to tackle the real problems. the deficit is set to hit a five-year row. in 2010, chely wright made history as the first major country singer to come out as gay. today, she's married to her partner, a new mom of twins and she's joining us for the final week of "viewpoint." before current goes away, it is the master class summit coming right up with both bill press

and cenk uygur. today is the birthday of the late alfred hitchcock, fidel castro and valerie plame wilson. the future will not belong to those who sit on the sidelines. the funeral will not belong to the cynics. the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. that's paul wellstone and tonight's f block explores what the word "liberal" really means and why liberals ought to be proud of it. this is "viewpoint." >> john: i'm john fuglesang. this is "viewpoint." thank you so much for joining us tonight. former first lady, former senator, former secretary of state hillary clinton is grabbing headlines again this week. yesterday, she was dragged into the spotlight by none other than carlos danger, aka, disgraced% new york mayoral candidate and the man who will be paying for the braces on the teeth of

america's comedians, anthony weiner. first, something more important. your right to vote. after months on the political sidelines, mrs. clinton took up the fight yesterday, condemning the supreme court's recent position to gut the voter's rights act and the string of red states rushing to aid in its demise. yesterday, north carolina joined texas, mississippi and alabama in passing strict voter i.d. requirements, a move mrs. clinton says will usher in the old demons of discrimination. >> in 2013, so far, more than 80 bills restricting voting rights have been introduced in 31 states. now, not every obstacle is related to race but everyone who says that racial crimination is no longer a problem in american elections must not be paying attention. >> john: the speech delivered before the american bar association, the first of a series of addresses mrs. clinton plans to give this fall, each one addressing a challenge she

says is undermining america's faith in government. well, hey, why wait? i'm sure she's just doing it for fun and socialization. here to talk about some of the challenges right now are cenk uygur, host of "the young turks" joining us from los angeles and from d.c., bill press, host of the "bill press show." two of the best minds in the business, my friends. i'm honored you can join us tonight. cenk, let me dive in with you first. there has been a lot of speculation about mrs. clinton's potential campaign. we hadn't heard much from the former secretary herself. why dive in now and were you impressed with the speech? >> so, is she going to run? of course! of course she's going to run. and she doesn't want to seem too brazen about it and go to iowa and new hampshire, et cetera. she's dipping her toe in with what is an incredibly safe topic. so, on the one hand, it's what every democrat wants, more voters, right. she gets to fight for more

voters. on the other hand, it is an important issue. it has nothing but wins. it is a perfect way to re-emerge into the scene and say i'm standing up for minorities, i'm standing up for democracy. and it helps her because it will get her more voters if she wins on this issue in 2016. so it is a smart way to come back in. >> john: for those turned off by her years in the senate, it is a great way to establish her progressive bona fides by taking on the topic. mrs. clinton called on congress to make it easier for just about everyone to vote. any chance of that actually happening and of course, as you know, before you answer, president bush was the last to re-authorize the original legislation. >> bill: i don't think there's any chance of this congress doing anything. i want to second everything that cenk said about the importance of this issue. it is the first civil rights act. it was the vision of john f. kennedy delivered by lyndon baines johnson and the supreme court gutted it under this

insane theory that racial discrimination is dead in this country. this is the koch brothers under alec, the american legislative exchange council, writing the bills, sending them out to the red states and governors mike pat mccrory xerox them and force them through the legislature. very important she get on this issue. i think what she's doing is brilliant in the sense that she doesn't have to go to tom harkin's steak fry. she doesn't have to go to -- to new hampshire or anywhere else. she gives the policy speeches and picks out good issues and gives one every couple of months that keeps her in the spotlight. it is a perfect sort of transition between secretary of state and i agree with cenk, before long, candidate for 2016. >> john: i agree with everything you said except one detail. alex stands for aristocrats elect. have you been impressed with how

the mainstream corporate media has covered the the atrocity? cenk? >> cenk: i think they've given it some degree of coverage. it is not because they care tremendously about voting rights. it is that the democratic party does. in one of the major parties cares about the issue, this is a coish for the democrats not just on the issue of justice but on the issue of they'll get less votes if legislation like the one in north carolina and texas pass. so the democrats are kind of forcing the mainstream media to cover it to some extent. it is no paula deen or jodi arias. don't get me wrong. >> john: bill? >> bill: to a limited extent. i haven't seen much about it at all. i've seen a hell of a lot more about paula deen and a lot more certainly about anthony weiner, a lot more about larry summers, frankly. that's an important issue. but not as central to what this country is all about as the

voting rights act. >> john: north carolina's the latest state to enact the strict voter i.d. laws. governor patrick mccrory signed the legislation yesterday. black folks, hispanics, college age, seniors, they'll bear the brunt for what is assumedly their right. given the country is changing demographics particularly in the south, what kind of shelf life can the laws really have? cenk? >> cenk: it's funny because north carolina proves the supreme court right -- i'm sorry, proves the supreme court wrong immediately. they jump right into it. they say you allow us to discriminate? we'll discriminate immediately. as long as they keep electing republicans and the local level, i don't know when they're going to stop electing republicans. they can go for awhile but the justice department will challenge and we'll see how that goes but to me, the larger issue and although this is as large an issue as we can get, the problem is that we've all lost our voting rights.

the reality is that our representatives don't represent us. they represent their donors. so what difference does any of it make? none of us -- our votes don't count. they don't care. the thing that counts the most is the donors. >> john: would you say if it keeps candidate ted cruz from winning the state of florida, would you say it matters now? >> ted cruz, first of all is not born in the united states. >> john: okay. candidate rand paul. >> cenk: okay. i'm amused at birthers that support ted cruz. rand paul is -- look, i'm so sick of this establishment, guys, honestly. we play all of the games. look at florida, right? you mentioned florida. allen west was despicable from florida. he lost. we were excited. patrick muhrfy came in, a democrat. what does he do? he takes the most amount of basically legalized bribes from the banks because he serves on the financial services committee. he takes the most out of any democratic and does what the

bankers want. the system is sick. it doesn't matter who gets elected. >> bill: let me tell you another reason building on what cenk said why the system is sick is how long will the laws last? they'll last as long as the current legislative districts last and the congressional districts last. it is really -- it really goes back to redistricting. again, back to alec. they wrote the laws and put the republicans -- they're in there for at least ten years until the next census and the next battle lines are drawn. and i think unless democrats get smart and start focusing on governor's races and legislative races, that these -- the laws they're passing now could be there forever because they're in districts where they don't give a damn. they don't have to give a damn. all they have to worry about is some challenge from the right. they can go as far right on any issue as they want to. >> john: i want to turn to yesterday's federal court ruling on stop and frisk, guys. it was specific to the nypd's tactic of stopping literally thousands of you know who, black and hispanic young men in

crime-ridden neighborhoods. more than 685,000 were stopped last year alone. it is a national issue. where do we strike the balance between civil rights and personal safety? cenk, does any of this surprise you? >> cenk: well, i'm surprised we got a good ruling. she ruled -- judge scheindlin ruled it unconstitutional. she didn't stop it. i wish she had. she's trying to reform it. i don't think there is a way to reform a grossly unconstitutional policy like stop and frisk in new york. you know, is there hope for the future? i don't know. because the bureaucracy, the state, the government takes and takes and takes and if it is basically merged with business interests and new york's the best example of that. ray kelly's perfectly happy to take away your rights if you're black or latino but if you're wall street, well, he literally has a joint effort in downtown and in the wall street area where they, you know, they have video cameras all throughout the

town. the people guarding the cameras against movements like occupy wall street are both cops and private security for the top banks like citigroup, goldman sachs, jpmorgan, et cetera. in new york city, the cops are basically merged with the business interests and they're united in opposition to the actual citizenry. >> john: what do you see as being a potential solution to this, cenk? >> cenk: honestly, there's no other solution but to get money out of politics. if you don't get a constitutional amendment saying that corporations are not human beings, they can't donate money to politicians. they don't have speech rights and we need a publicly financed elections. if we don't do that, they're going to -- forever serve the people who pay them. rite now, the corporate donors or the people who pay the politicians and that trickles down all the way to people like the police commissioner of new york city, you gotta get an amendment. otherwise, we've lost our democracy entirely. >> john: that's what teddy roosevelt was warning us 100

years ago. mr. press? >> bill: what cenk said is another reason for not having larry summers at the head of the fed. i want to make that point. but you know, look, i want to -- cenk is absolutely right. this is -- first of all, it is a great decision. didn't go far enough. what i think was significant that that decision -- because it is really racial profiling, to stop and frisk. 83% of the people stopped in the last eight years have been young blacks, young latinos. i thought it was significant that her decision came the same day eric holder said the mandatory minimum sentencing, which has been in place for about 20 or 30 years, is also racial discrimination against particularly young blacks and latinos for low-level, nonviolent crimes. he didn't go far enough either and the states have to follow his example. i thought both decisions, there is a glimmer of hope in both decisions. >> john: i agree with you. i can't have you both here

without talking about the final days of the grand experiment that is current tv. when al gore started the network, it was filed as a liberal news channel, an ind pibt alternative to msnbc. the anti-fox. at the end of the day, it made our friend, mr. gore a rich man. bill, will you count the experiment of current tv as a success? >> bill: for al gore. >> john: what about otherwise? what about for the progressive movement, for people who enjoy the programming that came from it? >> bill: i had high hopes for current tv. i consider it now a failed experiment. one more example of liberals not having either the commitment to progressive media or having the staying power to stick with it. and i'm -- i don't begrudge al gore for making however much he made but i really think that there is a crying need out there and an opportunity to make a lot of money with progressive media and look at the success of "the

young turks" and stephanie miller and your own success, john and maybe a little bit of mine there. is an audience for us out there. this was an opportunity to get it. we've lost that opportunity. i regret it. >> john: cenk, you a year ago, you and i were having fun with mr. gore during the debates. how do you feel now? >> cenk: i think from a business perspective, al gore and joel hiott made the right decision. i don't begrudge them at all. not 1%. look, i remember back to 2004 and back then in the dark, dark days of media in this country, we had absolutely no liberal voices. yes, "the young turks" were on sirius satellite radio. amy goodman was on democracy now but that was about it. at that point, air america didn't exist. keith olbermann hadn't started commentary. "huffington post" didn't exist. god, it was just a wall of

conservative fear, hatred, et cetera. so any voice that rose up in opposition to that, i found so welcome, including current for however long that it lasted. it made a difference. look at the alumni of air america now. senator al franken, rachel maddow, thom hartmann, myself and the list goes on and on. one day, we'll look back at the alumni of current and go oh, my god, look at that all-star cast. and what an amazing moment they had in history there. and i think we did a great job with it. i don't worry about it at all. >> john: guys, before we go to break, one last question from each of you. al jazeera america is trying to take a straight news approach with no bias. is that the wave of the future or is blue state/red state commentary going to outshout it? bill? >> bill: i think the people are looking for opinion today. educated, informed, entertaining, opinion. i think they're looking for opinion. i think there are plenty of

straight news opportunities out there. i wish al jazeera america all the luck in the world but i think that base has been covered a long time ago. >> john: cenk? >> cenk: my take is that passionate beats dispassionate every single time. and so you know, there is room for a lot of different voices and different ways of doing television and media. i know at the "the young turks," we proudly carried a progressive banner and we've got over a billion views and we're marching on and we've already conquered online news. we're going to conquer every part of the media.% don't you worry for a second about progressive media. it is stronger than ever and we're going to dominate going into the next decade. >> john: i really want to thank you, guys. cenk uygur, host of "the young turks." bill press, host of the "bill press show." i came to this network as a fan of both of you gentlemen. it has been a real honor to be a colleague and remain a fan. it is a pleasure to work with you and owe been half of everyone who enjoys the work you do, i thank you for making me proud to be an american.

>> bill: thank you, john. >> john: we'll be seeing each other soon. stick around because next, we're joined by the talented singer-songwriter chely wright who has been stirring up controversy in country music and is also one of my other favorite americans. daughters go out with him. >> absolutely not. >> you would rather deal with ahmadinejad then me? >> absolutely! >> (singing) >> i take lipitor, thats it. >> are you improving your lips? >> (laughter). >> when she's talking, you never know where the conversation is going to go. >> it looks like anthony wiener is throwing his hat in the ring. >> his what in the ring? >> his hat.

>> always outspoken, joy behar. >> and the best part is that current will let me say anything. what the hell were they thinking? >> only on current tv.

cenk off air alright in 15 minutes we're going to do the young turks! i think the number 1 thing than viewers like about the young turks is that were honest. they know that i'm not bsing them for some hidden agenda, actually supporting one party or the other. when the democrats are wrong, they know i'm going to be the first one to call them out. cenk on air>> what's unacceptable is how washington continues to screw the middle class over. cenk off air i don't want the middle class taking the brunt of the spending cuts and all the different programs that wind up hurting the middle class. cenk on air you got to go to the local level, the state level and we have to fight hard to make sure they can't buy our politics anymore. cenk off air and they can question if i'm right about that. but i think the audience gets that, i actually mean it. cenk on air 3 trillion dollars in spending cuts! narrator uniquely progressive and always topical, the worlds largest online news

show is on current tv. cenk off air and i think the audience gets, "this guys to best of his for us." only on current tv! >> john: i'm john fuglesang. this is "viewpoint." you know that gay rights have come a long way when the fight comes to country music which has been known, of course, for good ole boy politics and sadly, gay bashing songs going back decades. take 195 is's bob peck song "homo the range" about a cowboy named alexis. >> he was a prairie fairy. yippee i -- his horse was just swell, it smelled of chanel. >> john: that's like the last scene of brokeback mountain. steve greenberg sat irized big

bad john with big bruce where he relentlessly mocks a fictional male hairdresser and his death. ♪ well, the flames grew higher ♪ heard bruce cry i forgot my purse ♪ ♪ a squeal and a shout ♪ waited an hour but he never came out ♪ >> john: funny songs for fun-loving christian. garth brooks promoted gay rights with his song we shall be free but there are other country stars who have said ugly things they had to apologize for and other stars who have been forced to stay in the closet for fear of a backlash. that made chely wright's decision on may 4, 2010 to come out of the closet all the more heroic. she had a massive hit single with single white female. her decision made a world of difference. not just to country fans. we're pleased to welcome the chart topping academy of country

music award singer who has been cool enough to make people's 50 most beautiful people issue just edging me out, welcome back chely wright. >> thank you. i had never heard of those records before that you just played. >> john: pretty shocking stuff. >> pretty shocking. i consider myself quite a student of country music. you're good. you're good, john fuglesang. >> john: my staff is good. my staff is very good. i guess make you glad to know that you didn't know these songs, that that sort of novelty means -- diddy has faded in the midst of time? >> i'm thankful i didn't know those records. however, it wasn't lost on me that that mindset that, ideology was pervasive in my community and in my industry. but you know, there are pockets of people in country music and i just have to say this, there are people in the industry who are very affirming and very -- and

we know that. but it seems to be the ones who speak so -- sometimes violently about people like me. they have a big fan base and a lot of people listening. >> john: songs like that aren't being pressed on to records anymore. they're little diddies rush limbaugh plays. they're not commercially sold, i guess. your decision was incredibly brave. we know there have been plenty of country singers who have had to hide their true identity. you said it came with severe consequences. three years on, what kind of fallout do you still deal with and how does it look when you reflect on that period now? >> you know, i was thinking the other day about that because i'm so often asked what the consequences of my coming out have been. and it's difficult to really put a finger on that. you know, the music industry changes so much. so it is hard to say about record sales because record

sales are in the crapper anyway for a lot of mid-level to smaller indie artists. but i do know my record sales did take a hit. i do know they told my management and my agent, we would love to book her but we're not sure who will show up. it is just -- it changed the landscape of my possibilities. but i think -- i think the thing now that after three years, after having come out, the thing that really affects me most or makes me think okay, that was a consequence is how unviewed within my industry. i stayed off of -- i stayed off of facebook and all of that when i came out but when i did get back on, i had a few people who had my best interest at heart and who are friends of mine who said yeah, you don't want to read what was out there. and i'm a little curious. so i looked at some stuff. and i saw people with whom i had

worked at record labels, people that i had really busted my tail to help them do their job -- >> john: people who were happy to make a buck off of you. >> they were very happy to. i was often touted as one of the hardest working woman in country music. very proudly. i loved being known as that person. people who knew my -- they knew the work i did. they knew my ethics. i was never late for a show. i stood in line to sign autographs after every show. there was one in particular, one gentleman wrote a post the day that i came out. i have a hard time respecting someone who comes out on the same day that they have a book coming out. well, duh, it was a coming out -- i didn't write a cookbook. it was a coming out book. >> john: that's what the whole book was about. >> i had a record that came out that day as well. you and i both know, there is a

song on the record called "like me" that i would not have been able to release prior to coming out because it would have outed me. >> john: do you think it would be easier coming out in 2013 now that in those three years, we've seen don't ask, don't tell, repealed. we've seen a president endorsing marriage equality? >> i think that in much like it was in the way that it was easier for me to come out because ellen degeneres came out because rosie o'donnell came out, because melissa etheridge came out. because those who came before me came out and made things a little softer. they paved the way a little bit. so yes, i think it would be a bit easier for a country artist to come out now. but it is going to be incredibly difficult. >> john: do you think it is easier for a country artist who is a woman than for a man? >> great questions. always from john fuglesang. i do. i do think it is easier for a woman. and had you asked me this two years ago, i wouldn't have had an answer but i didn't know.

now, i believe it's easier because i'm looking at the people who comment on my facebook page and send me private letters. largely, the people who are so upset with me are men. and that has to do with their perceptions of how i would have felt about them had we gone out on a date, right? and so they say oh, darn it, i can't believe you're gay. what a waste. i say back to them, you have the same shot you did before, zero. in that i wouldn't be dating someone in my fan club line. i love my fans but not like that. >> john: no. >> but i've noticed the very caustic reaction about gays from country fans are had -- it's from men and they have a real problem with imagining a gay man in country music. because their mind doesn't -- their mind goes automatically to what kind of sex a gay man has.

>> john: straight men think about gay sex more than gay guys do. >> explain this to me. >> john: we'll be back with more with chely wright. we might have a special announcement. >> yeah. let's talk about some stuff. >> john: we'll talk about the worldwide attack on gay rights. don't go anywhere. compelling true stories. >> jack, how old are you? >> nine. >> this is what 27 tons of marijuana looks like. (vo) with award winning documentaries that take you inside the headlines, way inside. (vo) from the underworld, to the world of privilege. >> everyone in michael jackson's life was out to use him. (vo) no one brings you more documentaries that are real, gripping, current. this show is about analyzing, criticizing, and holding policy to the fire. are you encouraged by what you heard the president say the other night? is this personal or is it political? a lot of my work happens by

doing the things that i am given to doing anyway. staying in tough with everything that is going on politically and putting my own nuance on it. not only does senator rubio just care about rich people but somehow he thinks raising the minimum wage is a bad idea for the middle class. but we do care about them, right? vo: the war room monday to thursday at 6 eastern

(vo) current tv gets the converstion started weekdays 9am eastern. >> i'm a slutty bob hope. >> you are. >> the troops love me. the sweatshirt is nice and all, but i could use a golden lasso. (vo) only on current tv. >> john: welcome back to "viewpoint." the amazing country singer chely wright is back with us. wish me away, the documentary about her decision to come out

is out on dvd and was just nominated for an emmy. can i hear it, crew? [ applause ] so thank you for being back. i had you on as a guest the first time i ever filled in on this show. for the last week of current, i really wanted to get you back. i'm grateful. >> i'm happy to be your book end. it has been amazing to watch what you've done here. i look forward to your next endeavor. it is going to be great. >> john: thank you. chely, i would hit on you if i thought i had a shot. we've seen what happened with russia now. we've seen vladimir putin show his true colors by not just banning gay in public but what are steps you think president obama or just people of conscience could take to try to counter this? >> i don't know that the president can do much more than -- well, i don't like exactly what he said. i would like to see the olympics not happen in russia.

>> john: even if it deprives gay athletes of a chance to go for the gold? >> if you think of any other minority group that this was happening to, would this even be an issue? no. >> john: exactly. >> this is yet another way that a community -- a nation, a group of people is subjugating us. and it wouldn't be stood for if it were any other minority group, fill in the blank. so i think our president -- we've taken great steps during the obama administration. i would like to see him say something a little more strongly-worded. and i know these olympic athletes, they're training their butts off but if we stand for this, what is that saying? if we show up for the olympics, what does that actually mean? >> john: it means a chance to watch two guys make out in front of vladimir putin when they win the gold. i agree with you. we've seen back here, houston has an openly gay woman as

mayor. new york's front-runner for mayor is openly gay christine quinn. what do you think it will take for america to embrace an openly gay candidate for president? do you see happening in our lifetimes? >> i do. i do. i think we'll have one of the -- i think -- not the g.o.p. but -- >> john: you never know. they might have a better chance of getting elected than a democratic candidate. >> explain that to me. >> john: let's say i'm a gay republican and there's evil gay republicans. let's say i came out on a ferocious anti-immigration bill. in that sense, couldn't a law & order cut your taxes guy be elected just as easily as a progressive gay candidate who fights for labor and fights for women's right and pre-k. >> do you think that the gay republican could get the nomination? >> john: well, i would have said no until rob portman,

author of don't ask, don't tell, had his son come out, you know, gave up on the bigotry. >> wasn't that powerful? >> john: it was sad it took someone he knew coming out. >> it was. of course, i did a lot of reading when that happened as we all did. those of us who are thinking about the issue of equality. gays and straight allies, alike. i couldn't believe the backlash of well, day late and a dollar short. sometimes it does take hearing it from someone you care about. sometimes it doesn't hit home until you've had a sit-down, a really emotional discussion about dad, this is what it was like for me. or telling your brother you have no idea what my life has been like. let me tell you. and in a world of sound bytes, sometimes it's hard to get through to people. i have no problem with the fact that it took him -- took his son coming out to him for the light bulb to go on. >> john: having empathy for

the empathy -- capitalism is the unsung hero in the lgbt equality movement. >> talk to me. >> john: when i see an ad showing a gay couple shopping together that, made the entire industry realize this is a market. and to this day, you see budweiser having banners in every lgbt pride parade. capitalism realized we can be nice to people and actually sell them things and in that sense, the free market has helped the civil rights movement. >> it has but i do have a little problem with that. >> john: please. >> i have a problem with particular groups, companies, organizations, contingencies of people, if they're impetus to be lgbt friendly is because they number one don't want to be seen as a homophobe or number two, they want to sell something, they're missing the point. >> john: i didn't say they have souls. sheer greed can bring about good

things, i think. >> we know that. that's been well-established. >> john: before we go, can we announce a special? >> let's do. it is exciting. >> john: okay. >> you know that i started the like me lighthouse in kansas city. the lgbt center. it is a passion prong for me. we opened a couple of years ago and we have a great comedy show coming to town november 13th, mark your calendars. yes, it is a wednesday night but we're going to blow it out. >> john: who's on the bill? >> margaret cho, john fuglesang, and judy gold. we're going to have a great night. tickets will be up for sale next week. >> john: great. chely wright, thank you for your music that touches so many. thank you for your bravery and thank you for making my experience here so rich and for coming back on our last week on the air. >> thanks, john. congratulations on a great run. >> john: right on. thank you. up next, anthony weiner makes an ass of himself. i know. but this time, oh, my god, it

could hurt the clintons. thank you, chely. to me now? you know the kind of guys that do reverse mortgage commercials? those types are coming on to me all the time now. (vo) she gets the comedians laughing and the thinkers thinking. >>ok, so there's wiggle room in the ten commandments, that's what you're saying. you would rather deal with ahmadinejad than me. >>absolutely. >> and so would mitt romney. (vo) she's joy behar. >>and the best part is that current will let me say anything. what the hell were they thinking?

>> john: another so that happened is happening now! the weiner giveth but the weiner never quite seems to getting around to taketh things away. the gift that keeps on giving is back. professional liability and new york city mayoral candidate ironic candidate anthony weiner may have landed his long-suffering wife huma abedin

in trouble with her employer, hillary clinton again. see if you can guess what mr. weiner should not have said about his wife in this interview with "buzzfeed." >> is huma still working on the campaign? she's helping out every day. >> is -- do you know what her role in hillary's 2016 campaign is going to be? >> i do. >> what it be? >> i'm not telling you. [ laughter ] >> john: hillary 2016 campaign? not happening dude. not yet officially at least. granted, the question itself was kind of a set-up, yeah. we all know mrs. clinton will run for president but seriously, who do you think camp hillary clinton would identify as the very last person on the planet they want to announce her run? you may have seen the latest polls, sir. you have an 80% disapproval rating right here in new york city. a pretty progressive place. it ain't because progressives don't believe in second chances. it just they're not so hot on the third, fourth and fifth

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>> john: here at "viewpoint," we always try to address political and topical subjects but we serve it up with a mix of straight news on top and a sizable portion of satire, humor and general irreverence on the

bottom. and right now, it is time for a big helping of humor. our next guest is one of my favorites, a king of social and political humor. this man worked as a contributor and is a terrorist for msennbc d he has the best of boston award in the stand-up comedy category and as a producer for his show. here is a clip of a bit he did a few years back. it is incredible how topical it still is today. take a look at boston's own, the great jimmy tingle. >> you know what the funny thing about immigration is, folks? even the people who sneak into this country, who probably make pretty good citizens, based on the risks they take to sneak into the country. i mean look what these guys from mexico do to get into america. these guys do like a triathlon in the dark. [ laughter ] just to pick lettuce. i mean think about that, folks. walk the desert, swim the river, run across the border.

first 10,000 get to pick some lettuce. >> john: jimmy tingle, such a pleasure to welcome you here to the final week of "viewpoint." >> john, thanks a million for having me and you know, they're still debating immigration all of these years later. now they want to build a 700 mile fence across the border. john, between you and i, a couple of problems with a 700 mile fence. the first problem is the border with mexico is 1900 miles long. i'm not an expert on immigration but i would surmise that people flee, abject poverty will go around the fence. >> john: it is possible. but the fence does raise a lot of money and votes for republicans. that's what it is about. you're right, jimmy. i saw do you that bit years ago. it resonates and it gets funnier as it goes on. you're one of my favorite political comics in the world. you have presented controversial topics in a very palatable package. you don't really offend people too much. you challenge ideas but i see conservatives laughing at your

stuff as hard as liberals. what's your key to doing political humor? >> well, thank you for those kind words. i think i try to go with common sense. i mean, for example, when you look at just take immigration. when you look at how hard people work and the risks they take to come to america, are they not on a certain level modern day pilgrims? think about this, john. sneaking into a country to work. that's incredible. that's like somebody breaking into your house to clean it. when conservatives hear that, they have to chuckle because they know deep down inside, it's true. >> john: do you ever alienate your audience on the left or right? which side do you find to be more sensitive? >> i find -- you know, i think if you go for the truth and you try to be intellectually honest with the arguments and you try to even present it matter-of-factly or just like right down the middle, i think people will find the humor in it on either side. whatever side they're on,

they'll find the humor in it. with the whole -- for example, with the whole government surveillance program, i mean the government, as you know now has the personal records and database of data -- personal data of millions of americans. i mean you know as well as i do, that's outrageous. who do they think they are? facebook? president obama comes on television. tries to calm everybody's fears. he says listen, nobody in your government is listening to you. we know that. people on both sides of the aisle tend to laugh at it because there is a certain disconnect sometimes with washington and the average person. >> john: the first time i saw your work was in the film "damned in the u.s.a." back in '92. i think it was my wife and i, our third date. it was so fierce and so pointed. it speaks the truth across political lines. being from boston, i'm assuming you're familiar with the comedic work of one mitt romney. i want to ask what happened to

this guy? he seems to have gone from moderate to moderately ridiculous in an effort to appease the tea party? what was it like as a bostonian watching last year's campaign? >> it was a little painful because he was a moderate here in massachusetts. he's extremely bright and capable person. and he was a moderate here in massachusetts. but i think the debate in the country has shifted so far to the right that especially his party, they pulled him to the right. he listened to his -- the people who were advising him and i think he got some bad advice. had he run as a more moderate, centrist person, he probably would have been a lot more effective, i think. i'm personally happy with the president that we have but i just think mitt didn't do himself a great service by listening to people, pulling him to the right. for example, around immigration, talking about, you know, the whole idea of self-deportation and things like this. those weren't his authentic views, i don't think. when he developed the romney

care here in massachusetts, i mean that was a person trying to aspire to give health insurance to millions of people in massachusetts who needed it and didn't have it. it was the basis for obamacare now. and the difference i think, one of the biggest differences between obamacare nowor the way obamacare was introduced and the way romneycare developed in massachusetts is they had a period of time to debate it in massachusetts. it was a given that people wanted universal healthcare in massachusetts. they debated it. it was bipartisan. the democratic house and the republican governor. they came together and they -- you know, they worked it out over a period of years. the thing with what happened with president obama when he got in, the impression was it was a top-down -- it was being implemented and imposed on people rather than all of the states debating it. that's how i think -- that's why it got such a bad rap. >> john: the other big difference of course, romney care covers abortions, obamacare

didn't. jimmy, you recently returned to school and earned a masters from harvard university's kennedy school of government. was this to enhance your act or do you have political aspirations? you're kind of a legend up there. >> it has both, john. you know that i ran for president in 2012. i think you know that. under the humor for humanity program. the humor for humanity party. humor in helping. humor in healing, humor in hope. ha, ha, ha. that's what they would chant at my rallies, ha, ha, ha. my whole thing, john, was common sense. for example, you mentioned abortion. all right. big influence here in massachusetts for myself growing up was catholicism. >> john: me, too. >> the only issue that anybody ever talks about when it comes to catholicism is abortion. no one says hey, you're a catholic. what do you think of wage reform? what do you think of labor rights? what do you think of immigration reform? what do you think of the defense budget or poverty or things like this.

social justice issues. it is always about abortion. it bothers me. i got a big catholic family. half the family is pro-life. the other half is pro-choice. they're wonderful people. i love them all equally. if rival corporations can merge for their own mutual benefit, why can't the pro-life forces and the pro-choice forces merge for their own mutual benefit? i am suggesting, john, on your show that planned parenthood merge with the catholic church. and create the largest reproductive rights/adoption center in the world. planned catholics of the hood. focus on what we have in common. >> john: fight for birth control as well. i want to thank my guest in, jimmy tingle for being such an inspiration. i dream of touring with you and opening for you. this guy has shows all over massachusetts. check out his web site at jimmytingle.com. i implore you to go see this guy when he comes to your town. thank you for joining us in our final week of broadcast. >> thank you, john. congratulations on the show and looking forward to your next show as well. >> john: we'll have you there.

stick around all y'all because coming up next, we'll be discussing a very naughty evil word... lib beral. heard the president say the other night? is this personal, or is it political? a lot of my work happens by doing the things that i'm given to doing anyway, by staying in touch with everything that is going on politically and putting my own nuance on it. in reality it's not like they actually care. this is purely about political grandstanding. i've worn lots of hats, but i've always kept this going. i've been doing politics now for a dozen years. (vo) he's been called the epic politics man. he's michael shure and his arena is the war room. >> these republicans in congress that think the world ends at the atlantic ocean border and pacific ocean border. the bloggers and the people that are sort of compiling the best of the day. i do a lot of looking at those people as well. not only does senator rubio just care about rich people, but somehow he thinks raising the minimum wage is a bad idea for the middle class. but we do care about them right?

>> did anyone tell the pilgrims they should self-deport? >> no, they said "make us a turkey and make it fast". >> (laughter). >> she gets the comedians laughing. >> that's the best! >> that's hilarious. >> ... and the thinkers thinking. >> okay, so there is wiggle room in the ten commandments is what you're telling me. >> she's joy behar. >> ya, i consider you jew-talian. >> okay, whatever you want. >> who plays kafka? >> who saw kafka? >> who ever saw kafka? >> (laughter). >> asking the tough questions. >> chris brown, i mean you wouldn't let one of your daughters go out with him. >> absolutely not. >> you would rather deal with >> absolutely! >> (singing) >> i take lipitor, thats it. >> are you improving your lips? >> (laughter). >> when she's talking, you never know where the conversation is going to go. >> it looks like anthony wiener is throwing his hat in the ring. >> his what in the ring? >> his hat. >> always outspoken, joy behar. >> and the best part is that current will let me say anything. what the hell were they thinking?

>> only on current tv. >> john: if by a liberal, someone who looks ahead and not behind. someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reaction, someone who cares about the welfare of the people, their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs and civil rights and civil liberties, i'm proud to say i'm a liberal. that was john f. kennedy. liberal has become a funny term. i got called a liberal because i supported gay marriage and medical cannabis and i thought george w. bush's economic plan was a bad idea. turns out i wasn't liberal, i was prematurely mainstream. it is hard to imagine no social security, no medicare or medicaid. no civil rights act. no labor rights, no g.i. bill. all of the ideas were considered insanely radical before they were considered liberal then mainstream. but the status quo has been smearing the word "liberal" for dates that liberals are big

spending, flag-burning america-hating tax junkies who only want to create child pornography and get you hooked on well ware fare because we think being poor is awesome while smoking crack. dude that, is not fair. all liberals are preachy but liberals are anti-pollution and exploitation of labor, anti-miss ongy and bigotry, pro freedom of the press and pro freedom of religion, pro private property and generally have better taste in music. it is true. liberal is not synonymous with democrat. when i meet someone who only knows of the fox bubble definition of liberal, i tell them the word comes from the word free man and the oxford english dictionary definition includes open to new behavior or opinions, favorable to or respectful of individual rights and freedoms, favoring maximum individual liberty and political and social reform. but if you want to hate liberals the way a.m. radio instructs you to, take a second to thank that the liberals for the 40 hour work week, national parks, bank

deposit insurance, the americans with disabilities act signed into law by george bush sr. accused of being too liberal, family and medical leave act, libraries, freedom of speech, the peace corps, the hoover dam and having your weekend off. thanks, liberals! and as for the liberal media bias, my friends, the media is only as liberal as the corporations that own it. our media is biased in one way... toward ratings. the liberal media lie is the best narrative the status quo ever came up with. we now have a media that's not liberal but is terrified of being called lib beral and bends over backwards time and time again to prove it's not. the day they cover anti-war demonstration with the same ferocity they cover tea party rallies. the founders of america were the raging liberals of their day who believe in democracy over monarchy inspired by the enlightened thinkers, government of the people, establishing the general welfare who fought to

get the big of rights added to the constitution. they weren't called revolutionaries for nothing. true, they didn't think women were nonlandowners deserved to vote. they kept black people as livestock. they slaughtered indians, you know, guy stuff. but they were more liberal than the british empire like our modern conservative tea party is more liberal than the modern conservative taliban. which is why today's lib berals will be seen as very conservative by future generations don't. take my word for it. listen to this. as mankind becomes more liberal, they'll be more apt to allow all of those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled to the protections of civil government. i hope ever to see america among the foremost nations of justice and liberality. george washington stinking lib beral which brings me to the greatest liberal in all of history or literature, activist who fought the profiteers, crew aider for the sick, the poor and those in prison who valued community welfare over individual wealth and was sold out by his capitalist buddy. you see, barack obama is not

some brown-skinned anti-war liberal giving away free healthcare. you're thinking of jesus. the irony is jesus would be way too liberal for most of his current fan clubs. that's our show. thanks for joining us. two more to go. this is "viewpoint." we're still here. good night, mom. >> joy: 35 years after "grease," the two have reunited. plus i'll find out how vanilla ice managed to go from singing "ice, ice, baby" to hosting his own home makeover show. and pia zadora who is really quite zadorable. all of that and more tonight on "say anything."